[Bigberthaevans]

Dear Nurses,

My sweet autistic husband needs to have the following accomodations when he goes into the hospital for a procedure. He must have all female nurses. He is afraid of men because he was torchured and made fun of by men as a child and he also needs mothered through a procedure and men cannot do this. His nurses need to be all happy go lucky nurses. Serious acting nurses make him nervous and make his already scarey situation even scarier. He has to be able to get hugs from all his nurses because this is what he needs. My husband is a hug machine unlike Temple Grandin who doesn't like to be touched. My husband craves touch and hugs everybody he likes.

Also, he must be knocked out with the gas for any invasive x-rays that involve catheters or tubes or any other devices and he must be completely knocked out for any surgeries being performed on him. He cannot just be a little woozy, he has to be knocked out completly or he will freak out.

It is better to give my husband the gas first but because some hospitals insist on the IV first he needs to have one nurse do an IV stick and another nurse on the other side of him hold his hand through the stick and then rub the top of his head to calm him down when he hyperventillates and screams and cries. Even if they use the IV for anesthesia he has to be knocked out with the gas afterwards and must be out completely before surgery is performed. Even if you only intend to insert a catheter in him he must be knocked out completly before you do because putting a catheter in him feels like being stuck with a sword. An IV feels like being stuck with a butcher knife, and a blood test feels like being stuck with a steak knife.

In Christian Love,

Big Bertha Evans

[AmandaWIRN]

While I appreciate you sharing your husband's "needs" with all of us, it's not always possible to have 2 nurses present just to rub his head during an IV insertion (there's a nursing shortage- remember?), and it is not really realistic to expect for him to be put under general anesthesia just to have a catheter inserted. Also, your concerns about what type of anesthesia is used for procedures should be discussed with the physician or anesthesiologist performing the procedure- the nursing staff rarely has any input on what medications are used for anesthesia...

[Bigberthaevans]

Dear Amanda,

After the terrible traumatic incident at the hospital with my husband I have not had any problem whatsoever having his needs met. There has been a couple of times where they did the IV before the gas because of medical reasons which I can understand. I do know there is a shortage of nurses and there have been a few times where they have allowed me to go in there to rub his head because they had a shortage of nurses. When they have had enough nursing staff they have done this for him when I advocated for him.

When I advocate for my husband and explain how painful a catheter it is to him I have also had no problem with him getting put out with gas first. It all has to do with communication because most men have no problem. It's a little uncomfortable but unless I tell them they have no idea how painful it is for my husband. Imagine yourself being a male and having a sword stuck in your private parts. Would you not want to be put out too? I cannot imagine the pain my husband feels but I know it's real. Autistic people can be like Temple Grandin where they don't like to be touched at all or have no pain intellorance or they can be oversensitive to pain like my husband.

In Christian Love,

Big Bertha Evans

[TomB]

Hi Bertha,

Are there any adult autism forums that may be more helpful than this one?

[Bigberthaevans]

Thanks for the suggestion but I am not trying to get help, Tom. I am trying to educate nurses on adult autism.

Please, go to my website at www.freewebs.com/bigberthaevans/index.htm and check out the nurses page and you will see why.

I was talking to a nurse the other day and she said she learned "we know very little about autism!" I am trying to do my part in helping educate the nurse world about my husband's end of the autism spectrum!

Thanks and may God bless you all! It takes a very special person to be a nurse!!!